Photos: Natalie Boog/AAP, Andy Rain/EPA, Ettore Ferrari/EPA, Alastair Grant/AP, Javier Etxezarreta/EPA, Joel Ryan/AP
So many of our artistic geniuses have complicated legacies. What do we do with work we love by artists whose behaviour is more difficult to admire?
Robotic orchestra conductor ‘Yumi’ performs on stage with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Lucca in Italy in 2017.
Laura Lezza/Getty Images
Machines have been getting better at mimicking improvisation. But can this distinctly human process serve as a bulwark against the mechanization of life and art?
Zuma Press, Inc/Alamy
Davis’s ability to innovate and incorporate other genres into his jazz has left a lasting impact on music.
Kraft74 via Shutterstock
Davis’s 1970 album Bitches Brew turned jazz on its head and paved the way for fusion. More recently, Radiohead cited it as a key influence.
Virtuoso: John Coltrane (tenor sax), Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet) and Bill Evans (piano) recording Kind of Blue in 1959.
Pedro Garcia
The release of a John Coltrane movie soundtrack from 1964 has brought jazz movies into focus.
At some point, jazz went from the music of youthful rebellion to that of the cultured elite.
Freedom Master/shutterstock
Jazz used to be experienced on a dance floor. But over time, it became something to dissect and analyze.
Philip Tabane.
Oupa Nkosi/Mail & Guardian
Philip Tabane was unlike any other musician. His music was intimately woven into his cosmology and spirituality.
The cover of ‘Seven Steps to heaven’.
From: Wolf's Kompaktkiste
The story of jazz in the ANC army-in-exile, Umkhonto we Sizwe culture is far more nuanced – and positive – than depicted in a new film.
Miles Davis circa 1970.
Winston Vargas/flickr
Miles Davis’s 1971 album A Tribute to Jack Johnson sits uneasily within both jazz and rock genres, but its indefinable nature should be celebrated.
Hugh Masekela performing during the 16th Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
Esa Alexander/The Times
South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela made an impact across the world during his decades-long musical career.
Saxophonist Kamasi Washington will be performing at the 2017 Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
Something really magical is happening at the intersection between jazz and hip-hop at the moment. Many of the artists involved will be playing at Africa’s foremost jazz festival.
The cover art of ‘Bitches Brew’ by Mati Klarwein.
Artist's website
‘Bitches Brew’ and ‘Live-Evil’, two albums from Miles Davis’ electric period, have more than musicological significance. They challenge the listener to think beyond aesthetics and form.